🐝 The De Havilland Hornet Mk.III: The Heavy Brick with “Oomph”
Introducing the British beast, the Hornet Mk.3, AKA the de Havilland Hornet. Most of the community will call it a heavy brick, and that is true, but like a real brick, this has some “oomph” to it. To play the Hornet, you will need to understand its unique playstyle, its core mechanics, and how to weaponize its massive straight-line momentum.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
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Excellent Straight-Line Speed: High overall speed “on the deck” as long as you maintain a straight, clean vector.
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Laser-Focused Nose Guns: Low amounts of gun convergence issues due to center-aligned armament.
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Massive Horsepower: Equipped with high-power engines that provide a fantastic natural climb rate.
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Sturdy Construction: The airframe is remarkably durable and can take a heavy beating.
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Manageable Controls: Average control compression problems at high speeds compared to other heavy twin-engine fighters.
Cons:
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Low Agility: Highly sluggish in horizontal turns.
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Low-Speed Danger: Handles terribly at low speeds; dropping your velocity makes you an easy target.
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Sluggish Roll: A low roll rate makes rapid directional adjustments difficult.
Usage in Battles (Master Strategy)
The Macro Plan
Use your Interceptor airspawn to instantly secure a high-altitude position over your opponents. Once aloft, your primary job is to maintain a high-altitude airspace layer to protect your teammates (specifically your friendly bombers). Your definitive method of engagement is strict Boom-and-Zoom (BnZ) tactics.
Boom-and-Zooming is entirely about attacking without losing your energy bank (speed). This is absolutely crucial to surviving in the Hornet, as losing your speed can make duels and staying alive incredibly difficult. To execute a perfect BnZ pass in the Hornet, follow these four precise steps:
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Target Selection: It is highly recommended to only target opponents who are already slower than your plane or sitting at a lower altitude.
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The One-Pass Rule: Make only one pass per engagement. Fire a brief, accurate burst and immediately fly straight away at a very low angle of climb. Do not linger.
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The Safe Extension: Do not turn back around until you have extended at least 6,000 feet (1.8 kilometers / 1 mile / 1,800 meters) away from your selected opponent.
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The Reset: Once you have secured your 1.8 km safety gap, turn back around and repeat steps 2 and 3.
Chronicling a Match: A Veteran’s Walkthrough
As a lover and veteran of this aircraft, here is exactly how an average match plays out when executing this playstyle to its maximum potential:
1. The Start of the Match (The Setup)
This is undeniably the most boring part of the match, but it is the single most important phase for your survival. Immediately upon leaving the interceptor airspawn, turn about 30 degrees left or right away from the center map. This flanking route allows you to get into a much safer climbing position and gives you a vastly superior view of the overall battlefield layout as the teams develop.
2. Halfway Through the Mission (The Chaos Phase)
Before the first shots are fired, ensure you have climbed to an altitude of at least 20,000 feet (3.7 miles / 6 kilometers / 6,000 meters). Once you reach this ceiling, level out, analyze the unfolding battlefield below you, and systematically engage your targets using this strict priority order:
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Priority 1 - Slower Turn Fighters: Target the enemy turn fighters (Spitfires, Zeros, Yaks) first while they are low on energy and have no speed to use against you. Unless they are not climbing or are fast, avoid forcing the drop; otherwise, they are easy pickings.
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Priority 2 - Early Enemy Jets: Next, target the enemy jets. They are exceptionally fast and can wreak havoc on your team if left unchecked. Fortunately, you can catch up to them relatively easily due to their poor acceleration; eliminate them during this phase before they can camp in the high skies during the late game.
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Priority 3 - High-Altitude Props: Once the jets are clear, focus on the high-altitude enemy prop fighters. However, you must strictly ensure that you hold a definitive altitude advantage over them before launching your strike.
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Priority 4 - Overtuned Heavy Bombers: Save the bombers for last. To bypass their highly dangerous defensive armaments and buffed structural models, strike them the exact second they attempt to take off from their runway after re-arming.
3. The Late Game (The Closeout)
Assuming you have successfully survived to the late game, your actions will vary based on the specific opponent you are fighting. Your core end-game tactic is to stalk the remaining hostiles and viciously attack them while they are actively trying to climb to find out where you are. Catching them while they are slow and scanning the clouds secures an easy victory.
Tactical Matchup Breakdown
1. Countering Turn Fighters
You must only engage these nimble aircraft when they are already in a low-energy state.
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The Tell: You can visually confirm an enemy plane is slow and low on energy when you see white aerodynamic vapor trails pulling off their wingtips. Alternatively, catch them when they are crawling upward in a climb or just pulling out of a heavy dive.
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The Counter: Never engage in a horizontal turn fight with these planes under any circumstances. Build your speed, dive, retreat in a straight line, and repeat the process.
2. Countering Heavy or High-Altitude Fighters
This class of aircraft is difficult to counter because their capabilities match yours. Their main drawback is that they only perform exceptionally well at extreme high altitudes.
- The Counter: Trick them or drag them into a secluded airspace down at a medium-to-low altitude. Once down low, utilize high-speed vertical turning loops or execute a pure vertical climb to force them to bleed their airspeed. Once their airframe chokes and they lose their speed, they become a prime, defenseless target for you and your team. Eliminate them quickly before they can nose down and rebuild their velocity.
3. Countering Heavy Bombers
The difficulty of approaching a bomber varies based on its defensive gun arrangements, which can easily decimate your airframe if you are reckless.
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The Counter: When diving from above, focus your nose-mounted cannons strictly on their engine blocks. If you manage to catch them from the front, commit to a high-velocity head-on and aim straight through the cockpit glass to pilot-snipe the crew.
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The Runway Trap: Remember that you do not have to fight a bomber while it is at high altitude where it is strongest. Instead, ignore them early, wait for them to head back to base to re-arm, and stalk them. The exact second they try to take off from the runway, dive on them from above. At zero altitude and low airspeed, their massive frames are completely helpless, allowing you to easily core out their engines.
4. Countering Early Jets
Early jet aircraft possess incredible top-end speeds but suffer from abysmal low-speed engine acceleration.
- The Counter: Capitalize on their slow energy recovery. Trick the jet into engaging in a maneuver that forces it to bleed its speed. Once the jet is slow, use the instant, explosive horsepower of your twin Merlin engines to out-accelerate them and secure a clean, free elimination.
Veteran Tips and Tricks
As a veteran of this specific flight model and playstyle, here are the vital operational secrets that will maximize your survival rate and help you dominate the match:
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Tip 1: The Light Fuel Loadout: Always select a low-to-medium fuel load before taking off. Minimizing your fuel weight sheds unnecessary mass, making the heavy twin-engine frame as light, nimble, and responsive as humanly possible.
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Tip 2: Strict Flaps Management: Only deploy your flaps during landing procedures. Deploying combat or takeoff flaps while engaged in mid-air maneuvers creates massive aerodynamic drag and causes you to rapidly lose your forward speed—which is the exact opposite of what you want in the Hornet.
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Tip 3: Gun Burst Discipline & Vertical Targeting: Your weapon bursts should strictly last no longer than half a second. Short taps preserve your ammunition pool and give you ample time to correctly walk your aim onto the component. Additionally, it is highly recommended to enable Vertical Targeting in your settings menu to ensure your nose-mounted Hispanos cleanly loft over your nose during steep dives.
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Tip 4: Watch the Airfields Late Game: In the late-game phase, always turn your camera or radar to monitor the enemy airfields. Catching desperate enemy players as they are sluggishly taking off from the runway guarantees effortless, risk-free eliminations.
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Tip 5: The Anti-Bomber Belt: If you enter a match intending to specifically hunt heavy strategic bombers, always equip the Ground Targets belt. The solid armor-piercing slugs are mandatory for drilling straight through their newly buffed structural skin to destroy their inner engines.